November 16, 2023 UPDATE

Click here for the latest news from RRI

Newsroom, 16.11.2023, 19:24

Protests – Around 2,000 people gathered Thursday morning in front of the governments headquarters in Bucharest, in a national protest against the public pension system and the recent law on tax-related measures. The rally organized by the Meridian National Trade Union Confederation, brought together representatives of various public sector domains, from local police to civil servants and forestry and agriculture workers around the country. The main source of discontent is the bill on public pensions, passed by the Cabinet on November 9, which according to trade unionists abrogates some retirement rights currently enjoyed by several personnel categories. On Wednesday employees of Romanian public pension houses, healthcare and employment agencies temporarily suspended work and took to the streets. Healthcare ministry staff and pharmacists are also disgruntled and demand solutions from the government.

Visit – President Klaus Iohannis, who is on a state visit to Kenya, presented, on Thursday, Romanias donation to Uthiru Girls High School in Kangemi, underlining that the country will continue projects dedicated to education. “We will continue to focus on the implementation of projects in the field, for inclusive, quality education,” Klaus Iohannis wrote on a social network. On Wednesday, in Kenya, Klaus Iohannis met with the president of this country, William Ruto. On this occasion, four memorandums of understanding were signed in the fields of environmental protection and climate change, scientific cooperation, food safety and diplomatic training. The African tour of the president will continue on Friday in Tanzania, where he will have a meeting with his counterpart, Samia Suluhu Hassan. He will then travel to Cape Verde and Senegal, and according to the Romanian presidency, it is the first political-diplomatic approach at this level in the last 30 years, which aims at relaunching Romanias relations with the African continent.

Football – Romanias national football team has been, since Thursday evening, in Hungary, where they will meet Israel on Saturday in a Qualifying Group I match of the 2024 European Championship, to be hosted by Germany. Because of the war at home, the Israelis had to postpone their matches from October to November, and to play abroad the matches scheduled at home. Romania ends the preliminaries on Tuesday, in Bucharest, with Switzerland. Undefeated in the first eight matches, Romania has 16 points and is ahead of Switzerland, the group leader, in terms of goal difference. Next is Israel, with 11 points, and Kosovo, with 10 points. The two top ranking teams in the group go to the final tournament. Romania has not reached a European Championship since 2016, and a World Cup since 1998.

Israel – The Israeli army announced on Thursday that it had captured the port of Gaza, in the Palestinian enclave of the same name, international press agencies write. They show that it is a small fishing port, whose activity was already limited by the blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza since 2007, when the Islamist movement Hamas took over the Strip. The Israelis claim, however, that the port was a “training center for (Hamas) commando forces to plan and execute naval terrorist attacks.” Earlier, the army had occupied the Parliament, government and military police buildings, until then controlled by the Islamists. Israel also confirmed that its soldiers are still deployed in al-Chifa hospital, where, according to the UN, there are around 2,300 Palestinian civilians: patients, medical staff, and refugees.

Banks – The Romanian prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, stated on Thursday that next year no new taxes will be imposed and that the Executive will approve the establishment of a new bank with state capital. “Today we approve the articles of incorporation for the Investment and Development Bank of Romania. This bank, which exists in all countries, has been talked about for over a decade. Finally, were establishing it too. This bank represents the missing link between the money of international financial institutions and Romanias strategic projects. We will have the appropriate financial instruments for the development of these projects” said the PM. Romania still has two banks with state capital, Eximbank and CEC.

Gaza – The UN Security Council, so far divided, adopted a resolution calling for a humanitarian pause of several days in the Gaza Strip, breaking the silence for the first time after more than a month of war between Israel and Hamas, AFP reports. The resolution, drafted by Malta and which was adopted with 12 votes in favor and 3 abstentions (USA, UK, Russia), also calls for “extended and urgent humanitarian aid for a sufficient number of days” to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to civilians from Gaza. The resolution also calls for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children,” without condemning the Palestinian movement’s bloody attack of October 7. Both the Israelis and Palestinians criticized the Council resolution. The Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said that a ceasefire not just a pause should have been asked and that this should have been done a long time ago, while the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, condemned the resolution, labeling it as “insignificant”. On the ground, the Israeli army announced on Thursday that it had taken over operational control of the port of Gaza, a key infrastructure in the north of the Palestinian territory. At the same time, the Israeli army on Thursday continued its raid on the main hospital in the Gaza Strip, Al-Shifa, where thousands of Palestinian civilians are located, causing concern and a wave of criticism at the international level. (LS)